Once Upon a Small Town (Korean: 어쩌다 전원일기) is a 2022 South Korean streaming television series directed by Kwon Seok-jang and starring Park Soo-young, Choo Young-woo, Jung Suk-yong and Baek Seong-cheol.[1] Adapted from a web novel by Park Ha-min,[2] this KakaoTV original series is a romantic comedy depicting Seoul veterinarian Han Ji-yul unexpectedly being thrown into a rural village and meeting local police officer Ahn Ja-young. The first episode was released on September 5, 2022 on KakaoTV, and a new episode followed every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 19:00 (KST) for four weeks.[3] It is also available for streaming in selected territories on Netflix.[4][5]
Once Upon a Small Town | |
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![]() Promotional poster | |
Hangul | 어쩌다 전원일기 |
Revised Romanization | Eojjeoda Jeon-won-ilgi |
Literally | Accidental Country Diary |
Genre | Romantic comedy |
Based on | Accidental Country Diary by Park Ha-min |
Developed by | Kakao Entertainment |
Written by | Baek Eun-kyeong |
Directed by | Kwon Seok-jang |
Starring |
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Music by | Moon Seong-nam |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Original language | Korean |
No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Kim Min-ji |
Producers |
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Production company | Kakao Entertainment |
Distributor |
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Release | |
Original network | KakaoTV |
Audio format | Dolby Digital |
Original release | September 5 (2022-09-05) – September 28, 2022 (2022-09-28) |
Han Ji-yul, a veterinarian from Seoul relocates to Heedong village against his will. Here he meets a policewoman, Ahn Ja-young, a town insider with a friendly secret, and a local 'nuclear man' Lee Sang-hyeon. Han Ji-yul dreams of escaping Heedong village as soon as possible.[6]
Initially Choi Soo-young and Jang Keun-suk were offered lead roles in the series in August 2021. Later in September 2021, it was reported that it didn't work.[18] In May 2022, Choo Young-woo as Han Ji-yul, the native Seoul veterinarian, and Park Soo-young as Ahn Ja-young, the local police officer were confirmed as the leads in the series.[19] Baek Seong-cheol joined the cast later in May as Lee Sang-hyeon, a handsome young farmer.[20][21]
Since the series was shot in rural environment involving animals, the production team created a safe environment, with the advice of veterinarians, from the script writing process till the actual filming. The entire filming, where animals were present, was done in the presence of a veterinarian and a professional trainer. The production team revealed, "All props that come into contact with animals were specially made of silicone to ensure safety, and anything that could be harmful was excluded as much as possible."[22]
Once Upon a Small Town | |
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Soundtrack album by Various | |
Released | 2022 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Language | |
Label |
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No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Missing You" | Moon Seong-nam | Moon Seong-nam | Hong Dae-kwang | 3:55 |
2. | "Missing You" (inst.) | 3:55 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Sunset Village" | Seongnam Moon (Every Single Day) | Seongnam Moon (Every Single Day) | O.WHEN | 4:30 |
2. | "Sunset Village" (inst.) | 4:30 |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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1 | "Episode 1" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 5, 2022 (2022-09-05) | |
Veterinarian Han Ji-yul is tricked by his grandfather into coming to the village to take care of his hospital and house while he goes on a cruise. Here he meets Ahn Ja-young, a police woman, who is a town insider. Ja-young takes him on his assignments as veterinarian. He treats a dog and then an angry goat in heat who has split his head open. In the house the women’s association barges in at night with food as a surprise, much to his annoyance. When everyone leaves, he reads the letter which his grandfather has left him. In the backdrop of him touring the house, we hear the heartwarming letter. Ji-yul goes to the vet clinic and thinks of all that his grandparents have done for everyone and for him. As he comes outside, he finds Ja-young swimming alone, wearing all of her clothes and a headlight. | |||||
2 | "Episode 2" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 6, 2022 (2022-09-06) | |
At the beginning of episode we find Ja-young looking at her old book and remembering when Ji-yul had told her that they would be secret friends. Ji-yul starts his day with a run. On the way villagers flock around him, ruining his concentration and testing his patience. At the clinic, Ji-yul finds that he has to perform vaccinations on large number of pigs that day. Ja-young accompanies him and with her assistance they do it. In cafe he meets Lee Sang-hyeon, the owner of the cafe and the peach farm. His next appointment was to take care of a baby goat with colic. There are incidences of small thefts in the village and, Ja-young on look out of thief gets a call from Seon-dong, who saw the burglar inside Ji-yul's house. After some struggle they catch the guy. | |||||
3 | "Episode 3" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 7, 2022 (2022-09-07) | |
It turns out that the thief is from rival village of Majeong, so a fight breaks out between the representatives of the two villages defending and accusing one another. When Ja-young offers to give him a ride home and help clean up the mess, Ji-yul asks her to leave him alone. Ji-yul finishes cleaning his home and feels slightly intoxicated from cleaning the sticky booze from the floor. The next morning Ji-yul attempts to talk to Ja-young, but she rides off. On his next house call to Majeong village, Ji-yul finds the Majeong representative asking Ja-young about her mother. Later, when Ji-yul asks Sang-hyeon to sell one of his truck the bargaining is hilarious as they try to one-up each other. Ja-young later tells Sang-hyeon that Ji-yul is the one who was her secret friend from that summer when they were 12. On her way home, Ja-young thinks about the question Ji-yul had asked her – "And who do you have to rely on?". | |||||
4 | "Episode 4" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) | |
5 | "Episode 5" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) | |
6 | "Episode 6" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 14, 2022 (2022-09-14) | |
7 | "Episode 7" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 19, 2022 (2022-09-19) | |
8 | "Episode 8" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20) | |
9 | "Episode 9" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21) | |
10 | "Episode 10" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 26, 2022 (2022-09-26) | |
11 | "Episode 11" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 27, 2022 (2022-09-27) | |
12 | "Episode 12" | Kwon Seok-jang | Baek Eun-kyeong | September 28, 2022 (2022-09-28) |
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